On 4/26/2010 3:22 PM, Steven D'Aprano wrote:
That depends on what you call unglamourous work. No, I don't triage bugs. I don't have commit privileges, so I can't.
Tracker 'privileges' (responsibilities, really) are different from commit privileses.
Does hand-holding newbies who don't know the difference between a list and a dict count as unglamourous work?
Whether on python-list or tracker issues (which possibly should not have been opened), yes.
I'm not looking for a medal, I'm just trying to give back whatever little I'm able.
I would not want you to drop hand-holding to do tracker admin.
I don't understand is why there is so much resistance to the idea of accepting a personal recommendation from somebody who is trusted with commit privileges, even in principle.
Python tracker admins represent the core community to the larger Python world. There are two skills needed for such a responsibility. One is the ability to categorize in accord with vague norms. The other is social sensitivity in responding to strangers, especially tracker newbies. These are quite orthogonal to the ability to code or be someone's good buddy. Since one can do hard-to-repair damage, I think minimal evidence of these two needed skills is appropriate.
Dangerjim doesn't know Python, he can't contribute by writing patches, but he could make a valuable contribution by reviewing them.
Which he can do now, without tracker admin privileges. If successful, that would be more helpful than busywork admin. Actually, I can imagine a C coder writing certain C patches, given a decent spec, without really knowing Python. Terry Jan Reedy